The WWE SmackDown Live crew were in the traditionally hot pro-wrestling stamping ground that is Puerto Rico last night, as the WWE live event tour continues. All of the blue brand’s top stars were in action (with the exception of Charlotte and The New Day), with Jinder Mahal defending the WWE Championship against Randy Orton in the main event.
The event was a total sell-out, with some 12,000 Puerto Ricans in attendance to see Shinsuke Nakamura, Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin and more. Puerto Rican Olympic medalist and WWE hopeful, Jaime Espinal made his non-competitive WWE debut when he opened the show by singing the Puerto Rican national anthem. Here are the full results and review.
#1 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Dolph Ziggler
The show started hot as The King of Strong Style continued his series of matches with Dolph Ziggler. Despite a somewhat rocky start to life on the main roster, Nakamura is still immensely popular, and the San Juan fans treated him like the king that he is.
There were reports of many fans being upset at missing him, however, as the lines to get in were longer than expected. Shinsuke picked up the win over The Showoff after hitting Ziggler with the Kinshasa knee-strike.
Result: Shinsuke Nakamura def. Dolph Ziggler
#2 Mojo Rawley, Sin Cara & Luke Harper vs. Erick Rowan & The Ascension
Is that the strangest possible babyface trio on SmackDown Live?
Hyper jock Mojo, inconsistent anonymous luchador Sin Cara and former backwoods follower turned free man Harper teamed up to take on the more believable trio of Erick Rowan and The Ascension in the second match of the night. The bizarre trio predictably picked up the win over their beleagureed opponents.
Result: Mojo Rawley, Sin Cara & Luke Harper def. Erick Rowan & The Ascension
#3 Tye Dillinger vs. Aiden English
Tye Dillinger is seemingly cursed to only ever face Aiden English on the main roster. The Perfect 10 made the jump to the main roster a few months ago already, and it feels as though he is now 26-0 up against English in their best of forever series.
Tye picked up the win with the Tyebreaker, but The Perfect 10 desperately needs to move on to a new opponent.
Result: Tye Dillinger def. Aiden English
#4 Sami Zayn & AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens & Baron Corbin
Four of the six competitors in SmackDown’s forthcoming men’s Money in the Bank ladder match took part in tag action, in what was the final match before the intermission. United States Champion Owens was at his crowd-trolling best throughout, taunting Styles and Zayn at every possible opportunity.
It wasn’t to work for KO, however, as he took the pin following a Phenomenal Forearm from Styles.
Result: Sami Zayn & AJ Styles def. Kevin Owens & Baron Corbin
#5 WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship: Naomi [c] vs. Becky Lynch vs. Tamina vs. Carmella vs. Natalya
The second half of the show opened up with a Fatal 5-Way for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
The division is somewhat in flux right now, as all the performers build towards the historic Money in the Bank ladder match, and as such, everyone is somewhat thrown together into messy bouts like this one. Naomi overcame her four challengers to defend her title.
Result: Naomi def. Becky Lynch, Tamina, Carmella & Natalya
#6 WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Usos [c] vs. The Colons vs. Breezango vs. American Alpha
More multi-challenger title matches were up next, as The Usos continued to show just how H their day one is by defending the SmackDown tag championships against three other teams.
The Colons were the stars of the match, proving immensely popular in their homeland and providing many nods to Puerto Rican legends throughout. In the end, Jimmy & Jey picked up the win to retain their titles.
Result: The Usos def. The Colons, Breezango & American Alpha
#7 WWE Championship: Jinder Mahal [c] vs. Randy Orton
The main event saw Jinder Mahal defend his WWE Championship against the man he beat for the title at Backlash, Randy Orton. Jinder is flourishing in this new role, although the constant interference of the Singh Brothers certainly helps.
Mahal was able to defeat Orton thanks to the distractions of Sunil and Samir, hitting The Viper with the Khalass for the 1-2-3.
Result: Jinder Mahal def. Randy Orton
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